If you’re a homeowner, it’s your responsibility to stay up on home maintenance and improvement tasks. This includes your roof. Let’s take a moment to ask a roofing contractor in Seminole County about the top things that can damage your home’s roof so you can take preventative measures to preserve it:

Tree limbs: While trees near your home are great for shade and curb appeal, they can pose roof dangers. Tree limbs hanging over a roof are likely to scrape over shingles, knocking off small amounts of protective granules, and branch-to-roof contact caused by animals running along branches or by windy days may lead to roof tiles or shingles breaking, or even detaching. Overhanging limbs should be inspected to ensure they are not weakened from rot or disease. Otherwise, they could break and come crashing down on your roof.

Collected debris: The accumulation of leaves, pine needles, sticks, pieces of bark and tree pollen is not good for your roof, because built up green debris will decay and turn into a moist pile of rooftop mulch. In turn, this unintentional mulch, which is constantly wet underneath, just sits there, causing shingles to deteriorate and other roofing materials to rot—roof valleys are most always guilty of holding onto wet debris.

Strong winds: Shingles can lift up in powerful wind gusts or come loose over time. Whether raised or loosened, damaged roofing materials will let in rainwater, causing indoor leaks to impact your ceilings and walls. If you notice visibly raised shingles up on your roof, or pieces of shingles littering the ground after strong winds, you may want to schedule an inspection with a professional roofing contractor in Seminole County.

Wildlife: As cute as wild animals are, they can be total menaces to your private property. Birds building nests in roof valleys, woodpeckers searching for food, squirrels tearing apart already tattered shingles and raccoons pawing at exterior vents are all contributors to the destruction of your roof.

UV rays: Depending on the area in which you live, a roofing professional will recommend the best possible roof materials that will be strong enough to withstand the elements. Because ultraviolet sunlight will wear down the condition of a roof, exposure to high amounts of UV light will have an effect on your roof’s lifespan. In other words, UV rays beating down on the roof will dry out the shingles over time, making them brittle and susceptible to cracking, thus leaving your roof less well protected than it should be.

Poorly maintained gutters: Your rain gutters are designed for moving water off of and away from your home to avoid devastating water damage. But if the gutters and downspouts are clogged, damaged or generally not maintained, water cannot escape. This can lead to water backing up onto your roof, and may even allow moisture to get in between the roof and exterior walls, leading to mold, rot and other structural damage.

If you need roofing repairs, replacement or installation, contact the team at Winter Springs Roofing & Repairs to begin working with an expert roofing contractor in Seminole County.